Hitting the Mats Today
Alright, so today was all about getting down and dirty with some ground and pound practice. Didn’t feel like doing much else, just wanted to work on that top pressure and striking when you’ve got someone pinned.
Started off pretty standard. Got changed, hit the mats. Did some light jogging around the area, just to get the blood flowing. Then moved into stretches, really focusing on the hips and shoulders, ’cause you need that mobility when you’re on top, trying to posture up or shift weight.
Getting into Position
Spent the first chunk of time just drilling entries. Stuff like:
- Securing the takedown and immediately looking to pass guard.
- Practicing transitions straight into mount or side control after a scramble.
- Working on keeping my base strong once I got into a dominant spot. Can’t throw punches if you’re getting swept, right?
Felt a bit rusty at first, kept losing balance when trying to posture up too fast. Had to remind myself – base first, then strikes. Slowed it down a bit.
The Actual Pounding Part
Once I felt okay with holding position, moved onto the striking itself. Didn’t have a live partner for this today, just used the good ol’ grappling dummy. Threw it down, got into mount.
First, just worked on short, chopping punches. Trying to keep ’em tight, not looping wildly. Focused on planting my hips down, making a solid platform. You really feel it in your core and back trying to stay upright and generate power without giving up position.
Then mixed in some elbows. Mainly practiced those short, downward ones you can use from mount or side control. Had to be careful with the angle on the dummy, don’t wanna break your own arm, haha. But just getting the motion down, feeling the rotation through the body.
Did rounds of this. Maybe like, three minutes on, one minute rest. Mostly focused on volume and control rather than pure knockout power today. Just peppering shots, keeping the pressure on, controlling the dummy’s “arms” with my knees or hands sometimes.
Got pretty gassed doing this. It’s way more tiring than it looks, trying to strike while controlling someone, even if it’s just a dummy. Sweat was pouring pretty good by the end.
Wrapping Up
Finished off with some more stretching, holding the positions a bit longer this time. My shoulders and core felt it the most. Packed up my gear, feeling pretty spent but good. Felt like I got some decent work in on maintaining posture while striking from the top. Still need to work on generating more power without losing my base, but it’s progress. Just another day chipping away at it.
